Living the Dream
by grimalkinInferno
Summary: The adventure of a teen and their friends in a Pokémon world! this story has mirrors on ao3 and living-the-dream-of-pokemon.. the tumblr is updated first
1. Episode 1 - Chapter 1

_Episode 1: Let The Journey Begin!_

 _Chapter 1: Neosap Town/Home_

I sat at the kitchen counter, bouncing my leg impatiently as my mom made eggs on toast. I was understandably restless. Today was a big day! I didn't need breakfast, I needed to catch pokémon!

Just then, my stomach growled, reminding me that yes, I did need to catch pokémon, but I also needed to eat breakfast.

Alright, stomach, you win this round.

Meanwhile, mom had finished with the toast and eggs and had placed a serving of it in front of me, along with some orange juice. "Here you go, sweetie."

"Thanks, mom. It looks great!" I said, wolfing it down as quickly as I could. My mom wasn't the best cook in the world, but what she made wasn't toxic waste, so it was good enough for me.

"I just wish you hadn't screamed like that at eight in the morning on a Saturday," she said teasingly.

My mouth was too full of eggs for me to answer.

When I was finished with my meal, I set about stuffing my backpack with anything I could get my hands on. I was going to be gone for awhile. Entering the living room, I ticked off what I had already in my head:

A tent and sleeping bag (in case I couldn't find a Pokémon Center by nightfall)

Some assorted snacks

My laptop and charger

My phone and charger

My 3DS and charger (pokémon may have been real, but that didn't make the digital ones irrelevant! Plus, Animal Crossing was still fun)

Basic hygiene supplies (like I'd use them)

My meds (the future may be now thanks to science, but no one had found a cure for depression or anxiety yet...)

A pocket knife (I might be getting pokémon for protection, but you never know)

A notebook (for drawing and recording my adventure!)

Pajamas and a change of clothes

I thought that was everything, and yet something still felt missing...

My mom entered the room holding my wallet. "Forgetting this?"

I grabbed it and put it in my bag. "Thanks, mom," I said. How could I forget my wallet? I was going to put my Pokémon License in it, after all!

We walked over to the front door in the hallway. Mom was smiling, but in that Mom Way™ that mixes worry with pride.

"Be safe and have fun, okay?" she said, straightening my baseball cap.

"Don't worry, I'll have my pokémon to protect me!" I said, grinning.

She laughed. "I suppose you will!" she said, pecking me on the cheek and opening the door. "Now hurry before they're all gone. I love you!"

"I love you too!" I said, already stepping out into the new pokémon world that awaited me.


	2. Epsiode 1 - Chapter 2

_Chapter 2: Neosap Town/Pokémon Center (Outside)_

I sat outside the Pokémon Center on a bench, annoyed. It was comfortable, so there was no problem there, but there was something else.

I may or may not have gone just a little bit early.

It was still around eight in the morning, so the Center wouldn't open for another hour. I'd overestimated how long it would take to get there, so now I had nothing to-

 _HOLY SHIT WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT GIANT BUG OVER THERE OH MY GOD- oh wait it's just a caterpie._

I'd momentarily forgotten the reason I was here- pokémon being real- and had just scared the everliving fuck out of a poor defenseless caterpie in the bushes with my scream. I crossed over to the bush where I had seen it, intending to apologise, but it was already gone.

"Stupid, stupid, _stupid_..." I said, facepalming. If that was how I was going to handle myself around a caterpie, how was I going to catch anything?

"Uh... Phoenix? You okay?"

I looked up to see my good friend, Chris, looking amused at my predicament, and I just knew he'd seen the whole spectacle.

"Shut up, asshole. It just surprised me," I said haughtily.

"Sure. A little caterpie," he said, laughing.

I laughed too. It was pretty stupid. "Yeah, yeah, like you wouldn't do the exact same thing."

"No way!" he said, intent on defending his name from this heinous slander.

"Yes way! One time I saw you run from a frog!"

"I did not!"

"Okay, maybe that's not _exactly_ what happened, but you did yell!"

"But I still _caught_ it without waking up the whole town!"

I couldn't think of a response, so I just stuck out my tongue and took his hat, which was my impulse for every situation.

"Hey, give that back!" he said, laughing but obviously annoyed. Chris was... a bit possessive.

"No way, man," I said, fitting his beanie on top of my cap. "I'm the hat monarch now."

"Phoenix, no-"  
"Silence, peasant! All your hats are belong to me!"

"Oh my god!" he said, defeated, doubled over laughing.

Satisfied, I threw the hat back at him and sat down on the bench again.

Once he regained his composure, Chris took a seat next to me. "So... which one will you choose?"  
"Isn't it obvious?" I said. "Fire, dude!"

Chris rolled his eyes in a _yeah, typical_ kind of way. "So, what about you?" I asked. "I know you like psychic types, but those aren't exactly starter pokémon."

"I dunno," he said. "I'll have to find out what pokémon they are."

"But we already _know!_ Fire, water, and grass types!"

"I mean the actual _pokémon_ , Phoenix."

"Yeah, I know, I know." God, he was so picky choosy. It'd probably take him an hour to decide.

Speaking of which, I took a look at my phone. 8:34. Still half an hour to kill.

Chris took notice. "You excited?" he said, obviously over the moon himself.

"Hell yeah I am! I can't believe we're the only ones here!"

"Me neither!" he agreed, practically buzzing with excitement.

Suddenly, I had a thought. "Hey, you wanna go on our journeys together?"

"I thought that was a given!" he said, smiling.

 _Party member gained! Party members: 2._

I smiled back, happier than I ever remembered being since... well, it's a stupid story, I'll elaborate later. Oh, look! Someone else!

I wasn't sure why I hadn't seen her before, but there she was! "Aaron Burr, sir! Hey!" I called.

(Okay, her name wasn't _actually_ Aaron Burr, but we both loved the musical _Hamilton_ and her name was Aaron so... y'know.)

She beamed when I called to her. "That depends, who's asking! Hey Phoenix!" she called breathlessly, sprinting over to where Chris and I were sitting.

"Hey, Aaron! Phoenix and I were just talking about which pokémon we were gonna choose for our starters!" Chris invited. "Which one are you gonna pick?"

"Uh! I dunno!" she said, not the least bit perturbed. "I guess I'll just see and pick the one I like!"

"Well _I'm_ picking the fire type!" I said.

"We know, Phoenix," said Aaron, laughing.

"So, you're coming with us, right" I asked.

"Us?"  
"Me and Phoenix," supplied Chris.

"Phoenix and- wait, nevermind," I said, about to correct him. He elbowed me.

"Uh! Sure!" she said, beaming.

 _Party member gained! Party members: 3._

As Aaron took her seat next to Chris, I checked my phone again. 8:50. Not long now.

Chris, being the nosy little shit he is, saw and informed Aaron of this important development immediately, to which she squealed. "I'm so excited!"

"Me too!" said Chris and I simultaneously.

We all laughed. We were all so excited and all wanted to say so many things, but it seemed like we were all just repeating the same things.

Once again, I had a thought. "Wait, where are we gonna-"

 _Ding, ding, di-dong ding!_ "Attention, trainers! The Pokémon Center is now open!"

We all scrambled inside before I finished my sentence.


	3. Episode 1 - Chapter 3

_Chapter 3: Neosap Town/Pokémon Center_

I kneeled on the floor in front of three of the most adorable creatures I had ever seen in my life.

We had been greeted by a brunette nurse, who had told us to please wait a few minutes while she got our licenses and starters ready. We filled out some forms (honestly, the most prying thing it asked was our favorite colors) and we were given our licenses. Mine was red, Aaron's was purple, and Chris's was...

"Gray?" he'd said, looking a little disappointed. I'd nudged him and given him a _don't be fucking rude_ look.

Then the same nurse- Nurse Hope- had brought out three pokéballs, each containing the pokémon who stood before me now. My friends insisted I choose first, since I had gotten there before them.

First was the grass type. Snivy. Truly the most tsundere of starters. Its leaf on the end of its tail whipped from side to side in annoyance. Of course it wanted me to choose already. How cute.

The second, a pig with a ball on the end of its tail and an orange-and-black palette. Obviously the fire type, tepig. It gazed amiably at its new company, snorting a little puff of smoke through its snout. Even cuter.

Lastly, the water type, oshawott. It flapped its little beaver-esque tail on the ground excitedly, stars in its eyes and eager to be picked by a trainer. Probably the cutest.

Of course, I had already made my choice before I left the house. I smiled at the tepig and patted its head. "I'm choosing tepig, Nurse Hope."

I watched in amusement as the little tepig's face went from surprise to joy and it leaped into my arms, yelling "Tepig!" I laughed. I had definitely chosen the right one.

I looked back down at the nonchalant snivy and crestfallen oshawott, and it occurred to me that these were the same starters I had picked in Pokémon Black 2, the Unova region starters. Typical. I knew Unova was based on New York, but Ohio isn't _that_ close to it.

No matter. I had my own tepig now! I spun around with it, holding it at arm's length. "We're gonna be partners, tepig!" I exclaimed, giggling. It squealed in glee, enjoying the sensation of flying.

As I brought tepig back close to me, Nurse Hope held out a pokéball. "Here's tepig's pokéball," she said. "I hope you two have a lot of fun together!"

"We will!" I promised, taking the ball and putting it in my bag.

Next up was Chris. Aaron had insisted on picking last. It took Chris about ten minutes of humming and hawing before finally picking snivy. Snivy seemed unimpressed with its new trainer, but cooperated nonetheless. Those two were gonna be a handful, I could already see it.

Last, Aaron, who seemed overjoyed at being left with oshawott. She hugged it close, exclaiming that it was the cutest thing she had ever laid eyes on. Chris and I laughed as Aaron fawned over her new partner as if she had just received her first born child.

"Look at your cheeks! And your nose! Oh, and your little tail!" she squealed, being gentle but enthusiastic as she squished its cheeks. Oshawott seemed not at all bothered, and mostly flattered, with Aaron's praise. I never knew water types could be so red.

We all sat down on one of the couches in the Center as more neophyte trainers poured in to choose their own starters, chatting and giggling about how excited we were to begin. We let our pokémon stay out of their balls, and they seemed... okay with each other. Snivy didn't seem to want anything to do with the other two, but that was to be expected.

As oshawott- again- pulled tepig's tail, Chris turned toward me.

"Hey, what were you gonna say outside the Pokémon Center earlier?"

"Huh?" I was going to say something? Oh, right. "Oh, yeah! I was wondering where we were gonna go first! Like, we've gotta go to gyms and stuff, right? What gyms will we go to first? Or are we just gonna, like... I dunno. What's the travel plan? Who's steering the ship?"

Chris and looked bewildered, as if this were the first he'd thought of it. "Uh... I guess we can just... look at a map and, like, see what's closest?"  
"Good plan, mister genius," I said, pulling his beanie down over his head.

"Hey, cut that out!" he said, pulling it back up. "Aaron, got any better ideas?"

Aaron looked up from her previous state of gazing at her beloved oshawott. "Huh?"

I snickered. "Chris and I were just talking about where we were gonna go first."

"Oh! Uh! I actually may have planned a trip for us already last night." she said, beginning to rifle through her bag for the map.

Chris scoffed. "No way!"

"Don't question it, Chris. She used to get all A's on her homework when half of her life was dedicated to procrastinating, and you're doubting _this_?"

"More like all of my life," she interjected. "Aha! Here we go." Aaron had produced a map of our region, and was pointing to where we were now, Neosap Town. "So, I was thinking we would follow the routes in numerical order, 'cause that makes sense, y'know, they're numbered, and once we get back to route one we could find our way to another place, like on a plane or something." As she said this, she traced the routes in numerical order until she ended up back at route one.

"Sounds like a plan to me," I said. My plan had just been to wander aimlessly and hope for the best, so it was better than mine at any rate.

"Good idea," said Chris. I knew he was miffed at having not come up with this plan himself, but he didn't show it.

"Alrighty then~! Let's get going!" said Aaron, picking up oshawott and heading for the door without missing a beat.


	4. Episode 1 - Chapter 4

_Chapter 4: Route 1_

"Could... you... guys... stop... _running?_ "

How did my friends have so much _energy_? Both Chris and Aaron had their pokémon partners out and were running alongside them, and had been doing so for the past ten minutes. I, however, had been struggling to keep up with them and tepig, who was a few feet ahead of me.

"' _Pig?_ " said tepig, stopping to wait for me. Aaron and Chris did so as well.

"Sorry, Phoenix!" Aaron said. "We were just so excited to start our journeys, we forgot you're not great at running."

"I'm perfectly _fine_ at running, I just can't breathe after a while, that's all!" I huffed, grateful for the break anyhow.

Yeah, maybe I wasn't the most... fit person in the world. I'd _meant_ to start jogging and getting in shape after I found out about this whole pokémon thing, but I just... never got around to it. Besides, why run when sleeping is a perfectly viable option?

"Yeah, sorry Pheo. We'll try to go slower from now on, okay?" said Chris, apologetic. He always walked really fast in general, so he was used to being asked to slow down.

"Fine," I said, still not any less unhappy about my weakness situation.

Tepig seemed unhappy as well, having been thoroughly enjoying its run along with my friends.

"Tell you what, tepig, you can go on ahead of us, okay?" I said, not wanting my partner to be annoyed with me. "Just don't run into any trouble, and if you do, make sure to find us."

" _Tepig!_ " it squealed, and promptly bolted off ahead of us.

Meanwhile, oshawott and snivy seemed content to stay with their trainers. Oshawott loved having Aaron croon and fawn over it, while snivy just seemed... prissy. It apparently thought of Chris as less than itself, and rode on his shoulders like a prince.

 _Oy, vey..._

"Hey, Chris, are you comfortable with snivy riding on your shoulders like that?" I asked.

"Yeah, totally! It really likes it, too," he responded, petting snivy's head.

" _Vee,_ " it said happily.

However, as soon as Chris stopped petting it, it nudged his shoulder until he started petting again. This continued for another ten or fifteen minutes (Chris getting tired of petting, snivy poking and nudging Chris, him petting again) until Chris finally got fed up with his partner's behavior.

"Alright, snivy, I'm _not_ petting you anymore, okay? I know you like it, but this is just stupid."

" _Snivy!_ " it said, indignant, but this time Chris didn't budge, not even when snivy bit his ear.

"Ow! Cut it out!" he cried, prying his "partner" off him. "What the hell is your problem?"

Snivy, evidently, didn't like being talked to like this. It crossed its little leaf-like arms over its chest and stuck its nose up, refusing to be talked down to.

"Snivy, c'mon, you're kinda being a jerk," I interjected, feeling like maybe I should step in at this point.

"Yeah," said Aaron, having watched the spectacle closely. "Chris is your partner, you should really be nicer to him."

" _Oshawah,_ " said oshawott, agreeing with Aaron.

Before snivy could respond, however, there was a noise from up ahead.

" _TEPIG!_ " cried my partner, dashing back to us at full speed and hitting Chris and snivy, knocking them over. While those two were on the ground, tepig leaped into my arms and began squealing animatedly.

"What is it, tepig?" I asked.

" _Krow! Krow! Krow!"_

It was coming from where tepig had come from.

"... Tepig, what did you do?"

Just then, a flock of bird pokémon- murkrow- made itself visible from where the _krow_ -ing came from, and I got my answer.

Well, this was going to be just _fantastic,_ wasn't it?

I looked down at tepig, then at my friends.

"You guys ready?"

Chris nodded.

Aaron said "Yeah," looking and sounding the least ready she had ever probably looked or sounded in her life.

Together, oshawott, snivy, and tepig leaped away from their trainers and faced the murkrow, who were almost upon us.

Chris immediately assumed the lead. "Alright, wait until they get close, snivy. Use tackle as much as you can."

" _Vee._ "

"Tepig," I said, "stand your ground, and wait for the murkrow to get close enough to tackle! Try and aim. You don't have to knock them out, just drive them off!"

" _Tepig!"_

"Do the same, oshawott! Spread out and get as many as you can!" shouted Aaron.

" _Oshawott!"_

All at once, the murkrow were upon us and our partners began their assault. Tepig did its best to aim, and got several murkrow to turn tail. Oshawott tried to spread its attack, and managed to pick off a few more. This was far from enough, however, and snivy had still not attacked. Only a few had left.

"Snivy, now! Use tackle!" commanded Chris.

But snivy didn't move.

"Snivy, what're you doing? I said use tackle!"

It stood there, clearly paying close attention to everything besides Chris. Perhaps it thought it had better judgement than him, and was still waiting to attack.

Waiting, however, proved to be snivy's downfall. It tried to tackle too late, and was pounced on by several murkrow.

"Tepig! Help snivy and use tackle on those murkrow!"

" _Tepig!"_ it yelled, running headlong into the hoard and scaring away those murkrow. Snivy got up and tried to keep fighting with the others, but it was no good; it had attacked too late, and now all they could do was try to keep the murkrow from pecking anyone to death, and snivy could barely do a thing. I tried to think of a plan, but came up empty.

Just then, a dark figure leaped out from the bushes and slammed into a murkrow, scratching it viciously. After seeing their comrade attacked like this, several tried to leave.

I heard a voice from where the creature had come. "Zorua, use pursuit!"

The zorua- for apparently that was what it was- leaped and tackled the murkrow before they left.

The same voice resounded another command: "Now, leer at the others and scratch them!"

The zorua stared daggers into the remaining murkrow, making them falter, and unleashed its claws, again attacking them mercilessly. Those who remained flew off as fast as they could.

Another figure darted from the bushes, apparently the zorua's trainer. "Good job, zorua!"

As the pokémon responded with its pride, I noticed who the trainer was. Could it be? Black, short hair, round glasses, upturned eyes... it had to be!

"Jade!" I exclaimed, relieved and overjoyed to be seeing my friend. I ran over and hugged her, and she hugged back.

"Hey, Phoenix! Good to see you!" she laughed. "This is my partner, zorua!" she explained, gesturing to the pokémon. It nodded its fox-like head in response.

"Woah, a zorua?!" said Chris, bewildered. "How'd you find it?"

"Oh, uh, it's a funny story..."

"It's fantastic! Thanks so much for helping us out! We were dead meat back there," said Aaron. Our pokémon sounded their agreement.

"Yeah, seriously, we can't thank you enough," I said.

"Oh, it was nothing," said Jade.

"I'm still curious, though. How'd you meet zorua?" asked Chris, eager to get to the point.

"Well..." Jade thought for a moment. "How about this; if you guys let me come with you, I'll tell you how I met zorua!"

"Deal!" I said immediately.

 _Party member gained! Party members: 4._

When the others didn't oppose, Jade seemed relieved. "Okay, awesome. It's getting kinda dark, so how about I tell you after we set up camp?"

"Sounds good to me!" said Aaron. I nodded.

"Uh... camp?" said Chris sheepishly.

"Uh... yeah?" I said, mocking him. "You _did_ bring camping supplies, right?"

"... Yes?"

I sighed.

"Chris, you dumbass," said Jade.

"It's okay. You can sleep in my tent," amended Aaron.

"I have a better idea," I said. "How about Chris uses my tent and I sleep with you in your tent?" I couldn't stand the thought of Chris sharing a tent with anyone. Plus, I didn't think he'd want to.

"Yeah, okay!" said Aaron. Everyone else agreed.

"Then it's settled. Let's set up camp!"


	5. Prologue

I woke up really early.

Why was I awake? I didn't usually wake up until midday... it wasn't a school day, was it? No, spring break lasted for another week, so my phone couldn't have have gone off-

I bolted upright, hearing my phone buzz again and realizing why I was awake all in one beat. Could it be? I almost didn't want it to be true. There was no way...

I checked my phone, hoping to God, Arceus, what-the-hell-ever, that is was what I thought it was.

And it was.

Professor Evergreen was calling me.

 _Holy shit!_ I was so excited I could throw up. I knew it was her because my mom had told me her number and I had added her to my contacts almost as soon as I found out I would get my pokemon license soon.

 _Wait, stop daydreaming, asshole, answer the goddamn phone!_

Hands shaking, grin threatening to split my face, I slid my thumb in the "answer" direction on the screen.

"Hello, trainer! I hope you had a good night's rest!" I heard a low, pleasant female voice say.

"Yes, I di-"

"This is, of course, a message. I can't call every trainer at the same time and listen to all of you, now can I?" she said, cutting me off. That was fine. Even Nintendo had limitations.

"In any case, I'm Professor Evergreen! I'm serving as a sort of announcer for the moment. As you probably already knew, Nintendo has developed a way to bring Pokemon to the real world! It was taken great care and hard work for many years, but our dreams have finally been realized!" I could barely contain my excitement, but I wanted to listen to the rest of the message.

"If you wish to receive your Pokémon License and begin your journey, please report to the newly built Pokémon Center in your city! A nurse will be waiting there to give you your license and allow you to choose your starter from nine in the morning until two in the afternoon, so get there quick and stay safe, trainers!" With that, a click, and I finally let out my scream.

" _I'M FINALLY GONNA BE A POKÉMON TRAINER!"_

 _I wanna be the very best like no one ever was._

 _To catch them all is my real test,_

 _To train them is my cause._

 _I will travel across the land,_

 _Searching far and wide._

 _Each_ _pokémon to understand,_

 _The power that's inside._

 _(Pokémon, gotta catch 'em all!)_

 _It's you and me!_

 _I know it's my destiny!_

 _(Pokémon!)_

 _Yeah! You're my best friend,_

 _In a world we must defend._

 _(Pokémon, gotta catch 'em all!)_

 _A heart so true._

 _Our courage will pull us through!_

 _You teach me, and I'll teach you._

 _Po- ké- mon!_

 _Gotta catch 'em all!_

 _Gotta catch 'em all!_

 _Pokémon!_


End file.
